US District Judge Charles Siragusa of the US District
Court for the Western District of New York found that there
was no evidence that the committee members knew about
misinformation about the acquisition of Optical
Technologies USA being put out by Corning, Washington-based
legal reporter BNA said.

Siragusa also ruled in a lawsuit brought by participant
Joseph Crowley that Corning and its board of directors were
not designated as plan administrators so they weren’t ERISA
fiduciaries – rejecting an argument that that company
and its board improperly required that the company match be
invested in Corning stock, according to BNA.

The plan also provided that once a participant turned
age 55, he or she could move the Corning matching
contributions to other available investment
alternatives.

Despite having estimated that the Optical Technologies
deal would bump its 2001 earnings by 25%, Corning actually
suffered a $5 billion loss on the deal, which contributed
to an 80% drop in the value of Corning
stock, according to the BNA.

Finally, the court dismissed Crowley’s claims against
the pension plan committee members, finding that Crowley
failed to allege that the members knew or should have known
that the plan should not have invested in Corning stock,
according to the report.